ST. LOUIS—The St. Louis Cardinals never miss a chance to show off their tradition. Why should they? They have as much as any team in baseball.

It includes 18 trips to the World Series, 10 World Series championships, a slew of Hall of Famers and a region of fans considered the best in baseball.

Bob Gibson, Adam Wainwright and Bruce Sutter also threw out first pitches for the Cardinals on opening day in 2007. (AP Photo, file)

And what better time than the World Series to give the country a history lesson in Cardinals' baseball? The Cardinals will do just that with the ceremonial first pitch before Game 1 against the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night.

The team is scheduled to bring out not one, not two, but three Cardinals greats. The three have at least two things in common: They are pitchers and more important for this occasion, they were on the mound for the last out in the decisive game of the Cardinals' previous four World Series championships.

In case you are unfamiliar with the club's history, the three handling the honors will be Bob Gibson (1964, '67), Bruce Sutter ('82) and Adam Wainwright (2006).